The Denton County Sheriff’s Office recently created a new position that will be responsible for registering and tracking sex offenders in Denton County.

According to the Nov. 6 press release that announced the Sex Offender Deputy position, the deputy will act as a liaison between the Denton County Sheriff’s Office and the Sex Offender Registration Program, which is run by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The deputy, officer John Goble, will also work with other agencies within the county to make sure the offenders are in full compliance with the law.

Previously, sex offender registration was handled by the Denton County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, with the majority of duties falling upon the administrative assistants.

In the prepared statement, Denton County Sheriff Tracy Murphree expressed that sex offender registration is too important not to have a full-time deputy handling the duties.

“I’m very pleased to now have a deputy whose only job will be to register, track and hold accountable registered sex offenders,” Murphree said. “This position enhances our ability to protect our most vulnerable citizens, our kids.”

Goble will serve as the first Sex Offender Registration Deputy. Goble has worked as a deputy for Denton County since 1988, a Denton County School Resource Officer and served as a Denton County constable from 1994 to 2006.

In Denton County there are currently over 140 registered sex offenders, most of them are males over the age of 30. Sex offenders in Denton County who reside outside of a city are required by law to register with the Denton County Sheriff’s Office. Sex offenders who reside within cities are required to register with the police department within that jurisdiction.

Captain Orlando Hinojosa, spokesperson for Denton police, said the position has been a goal of Sheriff Murphree’s since he took office on Jan. 1 of this year.

“It’s important for us to be on the toes of sex offenders and make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to,” Hinojosa said. “One of [Sheriff Murphree’s] goals was to have a new position of Sex Offender Deputy.”

Hinojosa added that he does not know why the position had not previously been created and Goble was one of several candidates for the job.

“Deputy Goble was chosen from several other applicants for this new position,” Hinojosa said. “This position is permanent.”

Junior kinesiology major Natalia Longway said she supports the creation of this new position.

“It makes me feel safer knowing that if there are any sex offenders in the local area that are non-compliant, a deputy will be put in charge of the issue and have a resolution,” Longway said. “I haven’t regularly worried about running into a sex offender, but it puts any doubts that would have arisen out of my mind with the creation of this new position.”